Using Images in Your Proposal

This week, I wanted to offer you some more practical tips and ideas for creating and using visuals in your grant applications. Visual displays can be used to help you analyze your results and clarify your thinking, some may help your reader understand your results, and some can do both. Below I discuss some different visual display options.

Matrices
Matrices can serve as an excellent tool for organizing and cross-analyzing information. I've seen them used in education research proposals where the researcher communicated the tasks, outcomes, and assessment plans by research goal. They're also great for showing timelines in a proposal and outlining due dates for key deliverables. These sorts of matrices can help both the PI and the reviewer understand the project and its organization. However, matrices lose their effectiveness when they are too big, and include so much information that the reader can't get a gist of what it means from looking at it briefly. Also, if a matrix gets too complex (e.g., it is trying to cross analyze more than two categories), the reader can get lost in it and at that point, a visual display does more harm than good.

Comparative images
I have seen some quite compelling comparative images in proposals. When PIs have lab results that are self-evident and they can show a picture with their test results next to the control, this can be powerful for the reader. Of course, this means that the images must have a clear contrast for them to be striking for the reviewer. Also, consider the knowledge base that interpreting your images will require. If you have mass spectrometer results, but your review panel includes laypeople, you may want to reconsider or you may need to include a bit more explanation to allow all of your readers to understand why the images are so remarkable. 

Conceptual model
One of the first challenges that confront a grant reviewer when reading a proposal is to get an overall sense of what the PI wants to do. The research project is often complex and can be challenging to understand how it all fits together even for someone in the same field. A conceptual model for the project included early on in a proposal can offer the reader a tool for making sense of your project visually as well as through prose. Basically, a conceptual model is a visual representation of your project and its goals; think of it as a map of your plan that will give your reader a big picture before they start digging into the nitty-gritty. Using a conceptual model, you can show how your research goals, aims, and/or hypotheses fit together and give a sense of the results you expect as well as their impact.

Decision model
I've always been captivated by "choose your own adventure" books. As a kid, I was terrible at them and my character always died right away, but I still loved the idea. Even today, I'm always struck by how many problems or projects can be illustrated using a choose your own adventure style. A decision model is similar to this concept in that it is a flow chart that shows where and how you will choose the path of your research project. When you want to show that even though there are undecideds within your project, you will achieve important results and meet your goals regardless of the path, decision models can help you do that. Of course, a pitfall is that in using a decision model, you are bringing attention to the unknowns in your project, and depending on your plan and how comprehensive your back-up plan is, you could feasibly cast doubt in the minds of your reviewers, so use decision models carefully.

Resources: 
Effective Visual Design in Proposal Writing - Allegra Johnston 
The Incorporation of Visuals into Grant Proposals - Jennifer Platte

On Using Bullets

Recently, in one of our e-seminars, the topic of bullets came up. And this really awakened my inner Technical Writer. I have very strong feelings about bullets, and I think that's because they are really the pinnacle of technical writing. They are meant to be short, clear, and concise clauses that communicate a list of some sort, and I love the crisp and condensed nature of them. True story: In college, I vetted a guy who was asking me out on a date by asking him how he felt about bullets.

So, you get it, I have a strange affinity for and loyalty to bulleted lists! Because of this, I also suffer an unusual frustration when I see bullets misused. So, that brings us to the topic at hand: the proper use of bullets. Below I offer some dos and don'ts to help guide you in avoiding my wrath ;)

Do keep them short

Bullets at their best should set off a list of words or short phrases. I will at times bullet a sentence (maybe two), but each bullet is communicating only one idea.

Don't use them for paragraphs

I frequently see folks bullet paragraphs in their grant proposals, and this is absurd! If it's a paragraph, it is already its own entity and a bullet does nothing for it. Just keep it as a paragraph already!

Do begin each bulleted phrase with the same type of word

When people read a bulleted list, they expect consistency; they expect that each bullet will share the same type of information. For this reason, it's a best practice to start each bulleted phase with the same type of word. Consider the following example:

Naomi's day consists of the following activities:

• checking email
• grant proposal review
• e-Seminars
• Corralling her children

This bulleted list follows both of our first two tips (which are of course the same tip written differently), but you can see that the items in my list are not written consistently. The first phrase starts with a verb in the present tense, and the second starts with an adjective. The last phrase is capitalized for Pete's sake! What would make it easier for folks to read is if I revised it as follows:

Naomi's day consists of the following activities:

• checking email
• reviewing grant proposals
• offering e-Seminars
• corralling her children

Do opt for a numbered list when the sequence matters

In the example above, if I were trying to communicate the order in which I do things (which let's be honest, they're all woven together these days), it would be better for me to use a numbered list, because the order would matter in what I was saying. For example:

Naomi's Friday consists of the following order:

1. drink coffee
2. check email
3. write the weekly blog
4. review grant proposals
5. force her kids to stop watching tv

Do identify what's in your list before the colon

This last tip is really a bonus, because it is tricky to do sometimes. But, the idea is that the last word you use (usually before a colon) to signal that you're going to use a bulleted or numbered list should identify the items that will be in the list. So, for instance, in the first two examples, my last word before the colon and the list is "activities" and then I give you a list of activities. In the third example, my last word is "order."

So, although, I often see (and sometimes write lists) like this:

The colors of the rainbow include:

• red
• yellow
• blue

I could stick to my last rule, by revising to the following:

A rainbow includes the colors:

• red
• yellow
• blue

In this revised example, I identify the type of information I'm going to identify in my list - colors. And, I agree, the original color example above is fine, but depending on if you're as big a nerd as I am, it can be fun to try and challenge yourself to reframe leading sentences to end with the word that identifies what's in your list.

So, that's it; those are the rules. You now have the tools to use bulleted lists properly, and inadvertently, you have the key to my heart! :)

Resources:

Bulleted Lists - APA

Specific Aims/Project Overview Checklist

I'm happy to report that this week we concluded a great virtual Grant Writing Symposium focused on strategies and tips in writing your proposal. We walked through such things as how to craft the narrative in your grant proposal and tips to keep your writing clear and concise. We ended with a Specific Aims checklist, which I've shared below.

Offer a hook in the first paragraph – why is your project important/urgent:

Be sure to hook your reviewers right at the getgo of your proposal. Show your reviewers how dire your problem is and build a sense of urgency for your research to be done.

State your project goal/what your project’s about in the first couple sentences:

As you're showing them how big and bad the problem is that you're solving, don't forget to include a sentence that describes what your project is about.

Give an overview of cutting edge research in your field:

Describe the latest findings related to your project and be sure to position yourself as a leading thinker in the area.

Identify the gap in current research and justify why this gap needs to be filled now:

After stating the cutting edge, identify the gap in the research and explain the importance of focusing on this particular gap now.

State your hypothesis clearly:

Make sure that your hypothesis is succinct and testable.

State your aims clearly (make sure they’re interrelated but not dependent on one another):

State your aims in short and succinct statements as well. They should fit together and each work to test your hypothesis.

Include a conceptual diagram (visual):

Including a visual that gives an overview of your project is a great aide to reviewers who are trying to understand what it is your project is about and quickly.

Close with the vision/impact of your research:

Be sure not to end your Specific Aims with a statement on logistics. Seize the opportunity to highlight the importance of your research into the future to cement the excitement you've built with your reviewers.

Write in an active, first-person voice:

Saying "We will do the research" instead of "The research will be done by the research team" is easier to read and it is a much shorter sentence. The former is in active, first-person voice.

Offer visual breaks in your text (particularly between paragraphs):

Make sure that you keep space between paragraphs and do not justify the right edge of your aims (a jagged edge doesn't look as clean, but it's easier to read).

Provide a MEAL in each paragraph and keep sentences short:

Make sure in each paragraph that you include a Main (topic) sentence, Evidence to support it, Analysis of that evidence, and a Linking sentence to your next paragraph or a Last paragraph.

In case you missed any of the 2020 Symposium, they're all recorded, and we encourage you to check them out for yourself!

2020 ORDE Grant Writing Symposium

Part 1: The Grant Development Process

Part 2: What Reviewers Want

Part 3: Honing Your Grant Writing